Wine!

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

I'm not a connoisseur of wines but I do like them a lot. I found this page with a simple guide to wines, but we can have our own recommendations in this thread too.

Personally, I'm partial to French wines because I have found that you can get a decent cheap wine with relative ease (and in France... just for that I would move there  ).

Tonight I had a 2006 Augey red Bordeaux that I bought for ~US$8 a bottle. I'm not good describing wines but I would say that it isn't too dry, too fruity, too full bodied, nor too alcoholic. I find the balance quite pleasant but with personality.

[Griffin NoName]

woops I thought this was a place to have a goood moan

well I do so anyway

wine: I can't drink the stuff anymore :endwine

[anthrobabe]

I have a bottle of Pink Merlot in my fridge-- want to try it-can't wait. I think it was around $8 to $10 US--- it don't have to be 'sepnsive to be good in my opinion.

I will post the results-- maybe tomorrow.

I'm not a huge wine drinker-- but I do enjoy it.

[Aggie]

Wine is so cheap down there....  there's little goodness under $10 here.  Some not bad deals at $12 - $15, though, and it's not really necessary to go over $20, but that's still not a 'table price' for me.

[Darlica]

There are of cause some gorgeous expensive wines, however I prefer the more moderately priced ones which don't give me agony while sipping it because one bottle = a weeks food expenses or more.   But I also stay away from the cheapest ones, you don't drink those for the taste, you drink them because you want to get drunk and can't afford anything tastier...

One learns a lot about wine and spirits working in a wine and booze store, one also learns a lot about peoples drinking habits.



BTW shouldn't this thread be in the food section?
Anyone opposed to moving it?

[Aggie]

But I also stay away from the cheapest ones, you don't drink those for the taste, you drink them because you want to get drunk and can't afford anything tastier...

'Swhy my favorite beverage with a cork is still Unibroue - the high-test varieties are very tasty, but per unit of alcohol they are almost as economical as the cheapest pisswater on the market.  That's beer, though.

We used to buy Superstore's el cheapo red wine (was <$5/bottle on sale), which is actually not too bad provided one finishes it immediately after opening. It goes to vinaigre very quickly.  I still grab a bottle if I need a bit of cooking wine, although it's not good enough for doing red wine reductions.  The white variety is terrible.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

I've found that Spanish red table wine is drinkable and extremely cheap (<=$4) even of the white variety.

Obviously quite different from a decent Rioja (~$12-$20).

BTW shouldn't this thread be in the food section?
Anyone opposed to moving it?

I guess Griffin is the one to ask. I placed it here because the 'What are you drinking' thread is here and could apply as to what wine are you drinking now (hopefully with a critique).

But I don't mind. 

[anthrobabe]

You can move it or leave it-- up to you all.

I have been and still can be very naughty-- I like wine coolers, I will also drink the really cheap Boones Farm stuff ( many of these are in actuality flavored malt liquor aka beer) --- shhhhh big secret. I have also bought and drunk the wine in a box (the box contains a big bag of wine and a spigot) actually not too bad a white zinfandel for table and daily drinking. I also buy stuff with a screw top. 

My mother brought some wine back from France, she bought it on the airbase, she paid ALOT for it-- I went to the local package store (liquor store) and bought the very same stuff for $10 a bottle-- she was so pissed, at me for busting her bubble or something. She put hers in the cabinet, in her kitchen, standing upright-- I'm sure now that the entire mess is corked or worse as that was like 2 and 1/2 years ago-- tried to tell her but like I said she was not happy with me at the time.

gonna crack the pink merlot tonight-- had tornado warnings all day-- i will let y'all know. and yes it has a cork.

[Aggie]

I also buy stuff with a screw top. 

My favorite merlot has gone to screw-tops, and it ain't cheap wine either (about $17 for the 750 ml bottles, although I usually pick up some of the cute little 375's, and very hard to find - I get it direct from the winery when I'm passing through BC's Lake Country).

http://www.arrowleafcellars.com/merlot.htm
http://www.arrowleafcellars.com/screwcaps.htm

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

It's a shame to seal the product of all that work with a cork that will not preserve it with any certainty.

That's the reason a number of wineries are now using plastic corks, mostly Californian and Australian. Apparently a bad cork can ruin from 1 to 10 in a 100 bottles of wine.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Oki. Today's wine is a 2007 Georges Dubeuf Beaujolais Noveau I got at a high discount on Target (I think they charged $5 for the bottle but there was a coupon of $3 less so, this was a $2 bottle  ). I've seen it sold @ ~$10.

Somewhat fruity without being too much, close to your typical Beaujolais but with an interesting aftertaste; very easy to drink. I read the Beaujolais Noveau should be drink soon because it doesn't age well in the bottle. Not a moment too soon if you ask me.

[anthrobabe]

still have not made it into the pink merlot yet.....


and I suppose I can see the issue with a cork--they slip, dry out, crumble, etc so they are not 100% reliable-- I guess it is tradition that makes one look down on a screw top or plastic cork.

[Aggie]

and I suppose I can see the issue with a cork--they slip, dry out, crumble, etc so they are not 100% reliable-- I guess it is tradition that makes one look down on a screw top or plastic cork.

I think it's cork taint (a fungus?) that is responsible for spoiling the wine.  Apparently there's no way to easily avoid it.  I guess we should be glad they are not spraying horrible chemicals to avoid it!

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Tonight we are drinking a 2003 Côtes-du-Rhône (Barton & Guestier). I bought it a while ago (for U$14 I think).

Sweeter than your average dry red and a bit more alcoholic but not in a bad way. It has some sweet fruit but I can't figure out which. In general a good wine. 

[Opsa]

I like reds, usually dry and oaky ones the best.

Around here most decent wines cost at least around $10. We also have, around a dozen wineries in our immediate area, but they are small production and therefore costly- around $26 or so, on average. We do splurge every now and then because we've met the vintners and like to go hang out with them. They are usually very generous with us, and we wind up getting a couple of extra glasses free, and sometimes some nice snacks, as well. Plus, there's something wonderful about sitting on a patio in a vineyard, drinking the fruits of the land. We are paying for the experience. Last year was very dry here, so we are looking forward to a really great local vintage coming up in the fall.

For more general use, like hosting casual parties, we reply on inexpensive but well hunted-out wines. There's a Trader Joe's some 20 miles away, where they have wine tastings on weekends and where we have found some really nice wines. They also have some House Wines, including Charles Shaw (AKA "Two Buck Chuck" but actually more like 3.50 a bottle these days and will probably go up). We used to like their Cabernet quite a lot, but last year's was poor, so we only do their Merlot this year. Next year this might change.

Recently while in Wal-Mart picking up detergent, my husband picked up a bottle of Cabernet that was around $3. I was horrified! But it turned out to be quite decent. I'll let on, but only to you: it's called Oak Leaf. We went back and tried their Merlot too, and it was not bad but perhaps too rich and sweet for general table use. I prefer the Cabernet- dry and drinkable right from the pop of it's foam cork.

I can really be a snob about wines, but I also try to stay open minded. There's a lot out there and it changes all the time. I love a good Chateauneuf de Pape, but if it's corked, I will send it back.